Feasibility Study for a Rural Finance Programme

In 2009, LFS was commissioned by KfW to carry out a feasibility study for a Rural Finance Program in Kyrgyzstan. The field mission was carried out in November/December 2009, accompanied by desk research in Germany. The tasks completed by LFS within this assignment include:

• Analysis of the macroeconomic environment for a Rural Finance Program
• Assessment of the banking sector and the microfinance sector
• Description and evaluation of the legal and regulatory framework for microfinance
• Description and analysis of the rural and semi-urban MSE sector and its demand for credit and other financial services; primary market survey with 300 rural and semi-urban MSEs in four regions of Kyrgyzstan
• Evaluation of the business environment for MSEs, and the National Strategy for MSE Promotion
• Assessment of the existing product offer for rural and semi-urban MSEs; Gap analysis to identify unserved credit demand that could become the focus of the Rural Finance Program
• Description of other donors’ activities
• Profiles of potential Partner Financial Institutions at the wholesale and retail level: state-owned and private commercial banks, credit-only MFIs, credit unions and refinancing funds
• Critical assessment of proposed project options and elaboration of a proposed project design for a Direct Refinancing Facility.